Students will use their writing skills to develop a fictional short story. They will develop their writing by investigating the importance of character development. Students will also discover the steps needed to write and develop an engaging and effective plot line. The students will also develop their skills of writing by considering the views of the audience and the importance of appropriate language. By developing these skills, students will gain confidence in their writing abilities, and will thusly gain confidence in their verbal skills. Developed verbal skills will give the students confidence in many aspects of their life, including public speaking and communicating with peers.
Establish Goals
Content Area: English
Grade Level: Grade 9-10
Domain: Writing Standard
Cluster: Text Types and Purposes
Standard: 3 "Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences."
Students will understand that
•Character development is essential to telling a successful and effective story.
•A well-organized and driven plot os vital to the effectiveness of a story.
•The language and syntax must be appropriate for the content of the story.
Essential Questions
•How will character development and interaction influence the story overall?
•Why must the piece be well-organized and have a strong, driven plot?
•How would incorrect language deter from the effectiveness of the work?
Students will know
•Important Events and People
How to effectively portray and develop multiple characters
•Sequences and Timelines
How to design and carry out a timeline to develop a plot and events
•Vocabulary
How language influences the flow and the view of the audience
Students will be able to
•Design a well-driven plot.
•Represent the thoughts, personalities, and relationships of the characters.
•Decide the events that will make up the plot.
•Aim the story at a particular age group.
•Consider the view of the audience.
•Reflect on each of the characters and their purposes. Performance Task Overview
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, out of Boston, MA, is looking for upcoming adolescent writers. They are interested in creating a Kindle version collection of young adult short stories, and they are specifically looking for adolescents to be the writers of the stories from their new collection. Students stories must demonstrate mastery of character development, plot organization, and audience recognition. Through several steps, the short stories will be composed by each individual student. These stories will be submitted to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company electronically. If selected as a finalist, students must create a 5 minute presentation in which they demonstrate their understandings of the focuses given by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. The board will review both the story and the presentation, and will make a final decision on which stories will be published in the newest collection of adolescent young adult fiction short stories.
Expectations
Absences: The students are expected to be in class on a regular basis. Excused absences must be determined by the school and the school policy. Work missed because of an excused absence must be made up when the student returns to school as to be determined by the teacher. If the student has a planned absence, the work will be due on or before the assigned date. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of taking credit for the work or words of another person. Whether this is intentional or unintentional, plagiarism violates the school Code of Conduct. It is important that whether direct quotes are used, or work is paraphrased, students need to give credit to all information that is not original. Assignments: Assignments are to be handed in on the assigned date. If for some reason there is an issue with completing an assignment, the student should see the teacher to discuss an alternate solution before the class in which the assignment is due. All assignments will be essential to understanding the information and being successful on assessments. Classroom Expectations: Students need to follow the Code of Conduct in place by the school. Both students and the teacher will be respectful of all ideas and works, and will do their best to foster creativity and originality in the classroom.
Benchmarks
•Interview - (audio/video) Characters will be interviewed about events, feelings, and other characters and their relationships. Students will be asked to create a recording of an interview of a specific character. This recording should give the audience an interpretation of the character's personality and his/her feelings about the events of the plot.
•Blog - Use a blog as a journal where the characters record his/her views, opinions, and relationships with other characters. This blog should give the student an opportunity to show personality by taking on the role of the character. This will also help the student to be able to develop a specific character more in depth. This will also allow the teacher and the audience to see the personality of the character in a different setting and interpretation.
•Prezi - Use Prezi to set up and organize the events and situations of the plot. This will help the students to organize the plot of the story in a way that is visually appealing and easy to follow. Because this is an interactive piece of technology, the student will always be able to move and organize the plot in a way that makes sense to both the teacher and the student.
•Storyboard - Use a template to create a storyboard to organize the plot, characters, and events. This will help the student to make the initial step in developing and organizing the plot and events sequence. This first activity will also help the teacher to recognize that the student has made an effort in developing the plot of the story. This will allow the students to receive feedback from both peers and the instructor.
•Newscast - Create a review of the book by the author, and consider the author's opinion on how the book will be received by the audience. This will allow the students to demonstrate the ideas they used to focus their story on a particular audience. This will be important because it will force the students to examine what makes a good story, and how they can make this evident to their audience.
•Poster - Create a book cover or movie poster to reflect on the themes of the story, and make sure the images are appropriate to the intended audience. This will allow the students to be creative and also analyze the portrayal of their story to their audience. The poster will need to portray their book in a way that the student feels is appropriate. This also will make the student take into consideration the views of the audience.
Grading Scale
A (93 -100), A- (90 - 92), B+ (87 - 89), B (83 - 86), B- (80 - 82), C+(77 - 79), C (73-76), C- (70 - 72), D+(67 - 69), D (63 - 66), D- (60 - 62), F (0 - 59). A grade of a C- is required for each individual course in the Block. Your grade for the Block will be the average of the four grades you earn from each individual course of the Block.
Office Location: C16
Office Hours: M/W/F 1:50-3 pm
E-mail: meghan.hughes@maine.edu
Summary of Unit
Students will use their writing skills to develop a fictional short story. They will develop their writing by investigating the importance of character development. Students will also discover the steps needed to write and develop an engaging and effective plot line. The students will also develop their skills of writing by considering the views of the audience and the importance of appropriate language. By developing these skills, students will gain confidence in their writing abilities, and will thusly gain confidence in their verbal skills. Developed verbal skills will give the students confidence in many aspects of their life, including public speaking and communicating with peers.Establish Goals
Content Area: EnglishGrade Level: Grade 9-10
Domain: Writing Standard
Cluster: Text Types and Purposes
Standard: 3 "Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences."
Students will understand that
•Character development is essential to telling a successful and effective story.•A well-organized and driven plot os vital to the effectiveness of a story.
•The language and syntax must be appropriate for the content of the story.
Essential Questions
•How will character development and interaction influence the story overall?•Why must the piece be well-organized and have a strong, driven plot?
•How would incorrect language deter from the effectiveness of the work?
Students will know
•Important Events and PeopleHow to effectively portray and develop multiple characters
•Sequences and Timelines
How to design and carry out a timeline to develop a plot and events
•Vocabulary
How language influences the flow and the view of the audience
Students will be able to
•Design a well-driven plot.•Represent the thoughts, personalities, and relationships of the characters.
•Decide the events that will make up the plot.
•Aim the story at a particular age group.
•Consider the view of the audience.
•Reflect on each of the characters and their purposes.
Performance Task Overview
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, out of Boston, MA, is looking for upcoming adolescent writers. They are interested in creating a Kindle version collection of young adult short stories, and they are specifically looking for adolescents to be the writers of the stories from their new collection. Students stories must demonstrate mastery of character development, plot organization, and audience recognition. Through several steps, the short stories will be composed by each individual student. These stories will be submitted to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company electronically. If selected as a finalist, students must create a 5 minute presentation in which they demonstrate their understandings of the focuses given by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. The board will review both the story and the presentation, and will make a final decision on which stories will be published in the newest collection of adolescent young adult fiction short stories.
Expectations
Absences: The students are expected to be in class on a regular basis. Excused absences must be determined by the school and the school policy. Work missed because of an excused absence must be made up when the student returns to school as to be determined by the teacher. If the student has a planned absence, the work will be due on or before the assigned date.Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of taking credit for the work or words of another person. Whether this is intentional or unintentional, plagiarism violates the school Code of Conduct. It is important that whether direct quotes are used, or work is paraphrased, students need to give credit to all information that is not original.
Assignments: Assignments are to be handed in on the assigned date. If for some reason there is an issue with completing an assignment, the student should see the teacher to discuss an alternate solution before the class in which the assignment is due. All assignments will be essential to understanding the information and being successful on assessments.
Classroom Expectations: Students need to follow the Code of Conduct in place by the school. Both students and the teacher will be respectful of all ideas and works, and will do their best to foster creativity and originality in the classroom.
Benchmarks
•Interview - (audio/video) Characters will be interviewed about events, feelings, and other characters and their relationships. Students will be asked to create a recording of an interview of a specific character. This recording should give the audience an interpretation of the character's personality and his/her feelings about the events of the plot.•Blog - Use a blog as a journal where the characters record his/her views, opinions, and relationships with other characters. This blog should give the student an opportunity to show personality by taking on the role of the character. This will also help the student to be able to develop a specific character more in depth. This will also allow the teacher and the audience to see the personality of the character in a different setting and interpretation.
•Prezi - Use Prezi to set up and organize the events and situations of the plot. This will help the students to organize the plot of the story in a way that is visually appealing and easy to follow. Because this is an interactive piece of technology, the student will always be able to move and organize the plot in a way that makes sense to both the teacher and the student.
•Storyboard - Use a template to create a storyboard to organize the plot, characters, and events. This will help the student to make the initial step in developing and organizing the plot and events sequence. This first activity will also help the teacher to recognize that the student has made an effort in developing the plot of the story. This will allow the students to receive feedback from both peers and the instructor.
•Newscast - Create a review of the book by the author, and consider the author's opinion on how the book will be received by the audience. This will allow the students to demonstrate the ideas they used to focus their story on a particular audience. This will be important because it will force the students to examine what makes a good story, and how they can make this evident to their audience.
•Poster - Create a book cover or movie poster to reflect on the themes of the story, and make sure the images are appropriate to the intended audience. This will allow the students to be creative and also analyze the portrayal of their story to their audience. The poster will need to portray their book in a way that the student feels is appropriate. This also will make the student take into consideration the views of the audience.
Grading Scale
A (93 -100), A- (90 - 92), B+ (87 - 89), B (83 - 86), B- (80 - 82), C+(77 - 79), C (73-76), C- (70 - 72), D+(67 - 69), D (63 - 66), D- (60 - 62), F (0 - 59). A grade of a C- is required for each individual course in the Block. Your grade for the Block will be the average of the four grades you earn from each individual course of the Block.